Mystery surrounds Peaches Geldof’s death

The sudden death on Monday of Peaches Geldof, 25-year-old daughter of Irish rock star and humanitarian Bob Geldof, remains a mystery as police have confirmed that neither drug paraphernalia or a suicide note were found inside her home in a London suburb where she died.

Geldof, married with two young sons, was found dead on Monday morning in her home in Wrotham, Kent. Police discovered her body “following a report of concern for the welfare of a woman,” according to a statement issued to the Associated Press.

On Tuesday, police in Kent said that a post-mortem would be conducted this week to establish the cause of death.

"At this stage, the death is being treated as an unexplained and sudden death," Kent police said. "Officers are working to establish the circumstances around the death."

Her devastated father, the Dublin-born and raised leader of the Irish band the Boomtown Rats, better known for his groundbreaking Live Aid and Band Aid fundraising efforts in the 1980s to combat poverty and disease in Africa, issued a statement expressing shock over the death of his second child.

"She was the wildest, funniest, cleverest, wittiest and the most bonkers of all of us," his statement said. "Writing 'was' destroys me afresh.

"What a beautiful child. How is this possible that we will not see her again? How is that bearable? We loved her and will cherish her forever."

Geldof is survived by her husband, British musician Thomas Cohen, and her two sons, Astala, two, and Phaedra, almost one.

Geldof’s life was touched by tragedy at an early age when her mother Paula Yates died of a drug overdose when she was 11. She earned a reputation as a wild child in later years from dabbling in drugs and marrying an American musician at 19.

However, Geldof seemed to have found an inner peace after her second marriage to Cohen and becoming a mother. A frequent magazine columnist and commentator in the U.K., Geldof said earlier this year that having children helped to heal the pain of losing her mother at such a young age.

“Becoming a mother was like becoming me, finally,” she said. “After years of struggling to know myself, feeling lost at sea, rudderless and troubled, having babies through which to correct the multiple mistakes of my own traumatic childhood was beyond healing.

“I felt finally anchored in place, with lives that literally depend on me, and I'm not about to let them down, not for anyone or anything.”

Tributes poured in from around the world after the shock news of her death. Irish President Michael D. Higgins, currently on a state visit to Britain, said, "This is such a difficult cross to bear for any family and all of our thoughts are with Peaches' family and friends at this time.

"Sabina and I were due to meet Bob Geldof while on the State visit and we are thinking of him at this time of immense loss.”

Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness also sent his sympathies. "The loss of Peaches Geldof is very sad for her family and friends - very sorry for them, so tragic,” he said.

Condolences also came from the Geldof family’s many celebrity friends, including Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne, Paris Hilton and Boy George.

Bob Geldof, now a resident of London, was knighted by the Queen in 1986 for his work in organizing the historic Live Aid concerts in the summer of 1985 which took place on the same day at the same time in Philadelphia and London.

In addition to her father, husband and children, Geldof is survived by three sisters, Fifi, Pixie and Tiger Lily.